U.S. reaffirms military ties with Cambodia

DIPLOMACY

New York Times

Updated 10:57 pm, Friday, November 16, 2012

Photo: Heng Sinith, Associated Press

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A Cambodian protester tapes his mouth shut in protest against discrimination of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT), in front of National Assembly, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. Nearly one thousand of protesters gathered on Friday to demand human rights and democracy in ASEAN bloc. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith) less

A Cambodian protester tapes his mouth shut in protest against discrimination of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT), in front of National Assembly, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. ... more

Photo: Heng Sinith, Associated Press

U.S. reaffirms military ties with Cambodia

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Siem Reap, Cambodia --

The United States on Friday reaffirmed its military ties with the authoritarian government of Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander, but Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also warned the country about its long record of human rights abuses.

After attending a regional security conference and a separate meeting with Gen. Tea Banh, Cambodia's defense minister, Panetta said he wanted to emphasize U.S. support "for the protection of human rights, of civilian oversight of the military, of respect for the rule of law and for the right of full and fair participation in the political process."

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Panetta was in Cambodia as part of the Obama administration's "pivot" to Asia that seeks to bolster military, economic and diplomatic relationships in the region and serve as a counterweight to China's rising influence. His visit came four days ahead of a planned trip to the country by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and President Obama, who will be the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cambodia.

The trips have triggered criticism from human rights groups, who say the administration is ignoring the record of people like Hun Sen, who has a bloody, decades-long history of crushing political dissent. A Human Rights Watch report released this week recounted numerous killings of labor leaders, journalists and opposition leaders in Cambodia over the last 20 years.

Cambodia has long had close ties to China, but U.S. Special Forces are now providing counterterrorism training to the Cambodian military, and the two countries also conduct small-scale joint exercises. Still, the defense relationship is in the early stages, and Panetta's aides said the Pentagon remained wary of stepping up the military relationship with Hun Sen's government.